Chapter 16

Jake

Once everyone was assembled in the aft hold of the Messenger, I took charge of the meeting. It was necessary for Lok to be there, even though he was pretty much a distraction for the time being. The massive Taruff sat with his powerful, triple-jointed legs folded in a strange way. Even sitting, he towered over the rest of us. Marco had quietly explained to me that Lok was his kalo, or 'heterosexual partner for life,' as he'd put it, and I'd sighed and nodded. It added a new depth to our involvement here, but it wasn't entirely bad. Lok had already saved Marco's life once, and for that I was very grateful to him.

"All right. So we know that Crayak's team has divided their forces in half to better their chances against us," I said without preamble. "We know from the interrogation of the surviving Oberkahn that none of Crayak's team were aboard the two bug fighters we shot down. Chapman and one of the Yeerks are down, which means we outnumber them seven to five now."

"We are eight," Lok said unsurely. In typical Taruff fashion he was quickly learning to understand English well, but his pronunciation was a bit laborious since he wasn't able to use the growls and barks he'd always used. "I am one of you."

"Damn straight," Rachel said, giving him a nod of respect. Rachel and Lok had hit it off well, probably because they were both insanely brave. Tobias, in human morph, was standing by Rachel. As I watched, he tried discreetly to hold her hand, which she ignored. He looked hurt, but Rachel was in battle mode. I knew she cared for Tobias, but she understood that when it was time to rumble, you couldn't let feelings for someone get in the way.

"I have my royal guards searching the main village for the Andalite," Amni'bel said, referring to the collection of homes and businesses of the middle and lower class Taruffs that was a few miles away from the palace. "If she is still lurking here, we will find her eventually."

"What's our next move?" Marco asked. I'd expected him to be obnoxious after his earlier battle, but he was obviously mature enough to realize that it wasn't the time. Lok was watching Marco's every move, already emulating his vocal mannerisms and gestures.

I sighed. This wasn't going to be received well, but I knew it was for the best. "We need to split our forces, just as Crayak has done. Half of us need to go to the Trunsk home planet and try our best to get some support on their side of things. If we can cause enough dissention over there, we won't have as much to worry about when they get here."

(Who goes and who stays?) Ax asked. I think he was a little dejected about the fact that I'd taken the role of leader instead of the dual control we'd agreed upon earlier. The Taruffs respected me and my friends looked to me for guidance. I understood that for years I'd been the leader and it was going to stay that way. Ax understood too, but I think he was embarrassed that even after his time as a Prince in the Andalite armed forces, he wasn't able to compete with me for the leadership role.

"We'll vote on it, but I'll tell you who I think should be where. Toby should definitely go, because she's not doing too good here. The methane levels of Xylen are higher than projected, and it's making her sick." I looked to her, and she nodded, alert but still glassy-eyed. "All indications are that the Trunsk are only going to respect warriors. Amni'bel tells me that they've been communicating for years, but the Trunsk are notorious liars."

"How have they been communicating? I thought the Trunsk weren't Z-space capable," Cassie frowned.

"They are not," Amni'bel grunted. "We've been sending fuel-powered messenger shuttles back and forth for as long as I can remember. It takes months to send or receive a probe, but we speak some of their language and as far as we can tell, they're fluent in Taruffian."

"Right," I said. "Being able to communicate is definitely a plus. That's why Lok and Marco should go – Lok will be able to translate for Marco. Add that to the fact that Marco's good in a fight and already a hero here, and we'll have a pretty good shot at getting the respect of at least some of these Trunsk. I think Rachel should go for the same reasons. The rest of us will stay here. Ax can help Taruff engineers modify their fighters for space flight and possibly even Z-space. Cassie will be a good public relations speaker for the general public. Me and Tobias can start versing the Taruffs' army in Yeerk tactics – how to defend against their weapons, their favorite battle strategies – those kinds of things."

"Um, Jake, I'm assuming the Messenger's staying here," Tobias said unhappily. I figured I'd get the most disagreement from him, since I wanted to split him and Rachel up. I knew Rachel could do the job I wanted her to do, but Tobias seemed to be intent on not letting her out of his sight. I understood why, but I couldn't afford to have him temper Rachel's fighting spirit. We needed it. "Marco's fighter can make the trip, but Lok, Rachel, and Toby have no way there."

Amni'bel waved his comment away. "We have copies of both of your ships' schematics. Our engineers are modifying three of our fighters for your body types and space flight as we speak. Your fighters will be ready within days." Her expression changed. "I think that maybe Marco should stay here. There is not a Taruff on Xylen who has not heard of his feats by now. Millions will rally to him to fight the Trunsk if he is present to lead them."

Ax scuffed his hoof. "I will earn the respect of the Taruff people," he said scornfully.

Amni'bel's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure that is wise?" she asked. Ax shrugged and scuffed his hoof against the deck again.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Cassie asked him.

(The Taruffs respect warriors. I will accept ground challenges until I have the unwavering faith of the population or until I fall.) I looked at him strangely and he looked elsewhere with all of his eyes. (It is the Taruff way, Prince Jake. It is what is required of a warrior in war time.)

I shrugged. If Ax thought it would help, then so be it. I had no doubt that he could defeat any Taruff alive in one-on-one melee combat. "So, there you go. If everyone agrees, we'll start hammering this into a real plan." Tobias looked distinctly unhappy, but did not object.

Amni'bel, obviously very used to getting her way, spoke again. "Marco, are you sure you will not stay and bask in the honor you have earned from the Taruffs?"

Marco laughed. "As much as I'd love to do a little honor-basking, I think Jake's got a lot of good points. I'll go." Amni'bel started to argue, but Lok grunted deep in his throat. I got the impression that Lok didn't care who Amni'bel was – princess or not, he was going to fulfill his promise to have Marco's back 24/7.

"Marco and I leave as soon as fighters are ready," he said forcefully. No one was going to argue with the big guy. Not even Princess Amni'bel.

"Then, if we are done here, I'd have a word with you in private, Prince Jake," she said to me. I nodded.

"If everyone knows what to do, get to it. Pack you stuff, say your goodbyes. We've all got a lot to do, but have a little time to yourselves before you throw yourselves into it. I'll meet up with you guys later," I said, politely dismissing everybody. Everyone left but Rachel. Tobias stopped when he realized that Rachel wasn't coming, but Rachel waved him on. He turned, obviously mad, and slapped the door control shut. Rachel stood there with her arms crossed, looking at me evaluatingly. "What?" I asked, and realized that Amni'bel was looking at me in the same way.

"Jake, the princess and I have been talking a little. Are you sure you can handle all this by yourself? Things are bound to get harder with me, Marco, and Toby gone," Rachel said, seemingly sizing me up. Amni'bel just looked at me, and I felt like my mind was being read or something.

It came to me so fast I could have slapped myself. "You've been reading my mind," I accused Amni'bel. "You saw that I'm not some fearless, unshakable war commander, so you go to my cousin who is."

Amni'bel slowly shook her head. "No, Prince Jake. I cannot read your mind, but I feel your dismay at sending your friends away. I also sense much doubt in you."

I looked at her slack-jawed. "Of course I'm doubtful and dismayed of sending my friends to an unknown, hostile planet. You Taruffs can't be so brave that you don't have doubt. No one is."

"Amni'bel had a suggestion, and I happen to agree with it," Rachel said. "Of course you're unsure of how this is going to turn out. You can't see the future. You need to do everything possible to maximize our chances of winning. We need to stack the deck in our favor."

Amni'bel picked up where she left off. "Rachel tells me that we have a good bit of time to prepare, perhaps even as much as a year. It will take Marco's group perhaps two weeks to reach the Trunsk world. It did not even take you a month to get here from Earth in Z-space. We are ready to fight. We will not be enslaved. We would rather die – and I am speaking for all of my people. It is not in their character to allow this to happen."

I sighed. They had me pegged on the doubt and being afraid thing, but Rachel was overlooking one big thing. "Princess, I have no idea what the Trunsk are going to do. There's a good chance that the Yeerks aren't even involved in force. Crayak may settle for pouring enough firepower into your world until every last Taruff is dead. He can win that way, and it'd be much easier."

"That could be true, Jake, but how does that have anything to do with turning the tables? This has got to be Crayak's way of thinking – worst case scenario, every Taruff fights a war with the Trunsk. The Trunsk are more warlike, so Crayak assumes they'll win. The Trunsk, however warlike, aren't morons. If they know going into the fight they can't win, chances are they won't even try. We'll have won without firing a shot," Rachel said enthusiastically.

I leaned back and resisted the urge to whistle. She had a good point, but we needed support from outside of the system. "I like it, but what do you suggest? I can't just snap my fingers and summon up a battle fleet," I said.

Amni'bel canted her head in the Taruff gesture of amusement. "Ah, but maybe your Andalite can. You said he was a great hero among his people, no? Would they not rally to him?"

"They might," I said slowly. "Even if he went to ask the Andalite home world to loan him some dome ships, we'd still need the Taruffs here to respect us enough to fight behind us. Ax's skill with his tail blade is the only way to gain that respect, unless you've got a better idea."

"Well, that's what the princess and I have been talking about lately," Rachel said, a little abashed. I guess she was embarrassed for not coming to me sooner. "The Taruffs have already seen you get the best of one of the princess' honor guard. You could do it again. We could guarantee that you wouldn't get hurt."

I looked at Amni'bel in disbelief. "You two are telling me that you'd be able to rig the challenges so I'd win?" I asked incredulously. "I thought you Taruffs were all 'honor or death,' or whatever."

She looked ashamed, and covered it by raising her veil. "The ways of my people may work against us for the time being. Deception is necessary. It will be forgotten if we win, and if we lose, no one will be alive to remember," she reminded me.

I thought hard and fast, and decided that Rachel and Amni'bel seemed to have everything figured out. I smiled slowly. "I'm not too proud to take good advice when it's offered," I said. "I think you guys have thought this out a lot more than I have. I'm going to go prepare a message for Earth and the Andalites explaining the situation and asking for all the support they can give us. Keep me up to date with your plans – I'm going to go sit down by myself and figure out the best way to go about this." Rachel and Amni'bel exchanged a look that seemed to me like two little girls that had just outsmarted a parent. They left in a hurry, and I said to empty air, "Jake, you're a conservative old man in charge of a bunch of kids who are too smart for their own good. Get with the program, man." I walked to my room and started working at my computer terminal, intent on the task of making every uncertainty a certainty.